South African's Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the Proteas' current ODI series against India, as well as the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
The news comes after the all-rounder fractured his thumb against India during the third T20I of the series on Tuesday.
The news soured a game that South Africa went on to win, their only win of the three-match series. Marco Jansen has been called up to the ODI squad and is on standby as one of three who could take Pretorius' place for the World Cup.
Despite fractures sometimes healing in 2-3 weeks, this one will require surgery, which will prevent the all-rounder from being active in time for the World Cup in just a few short weeks.
See Also: Why Australia must find Cam Green a spot for World Cup defence
"The nature of the injury requires surgical intervention and Dwaine will consult the Cricket South Africa designated hand surgeon on arrival in South Africa," CSA chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said.
The injury is the second such blow to the Proteas ahead of the tournament, having already lost Rassie van der Dussen to a broken finger.
While van der Dussen is expected to be fit for the tests against Australia this summer, he won't be available when Australia look to defend their crown later this month.
Despite the injuries being a cruel blow, they present a golden opportunity to Jansen, the 2.06m left-arm paceman. The giant who can reach speeds of 144km/h will hope to be included for South Africa's first game of the World Cup on October 24th.
